Josepha de Espronceda
Josepha de Espronceda is part of the original Hollow Ones cabal. Background Josepha de Espronceda was born in 1891 to a long line of witches. Her mother and her grandmother, and their mothers and grandmothers before them, had all practiced the arts of divination, healing, blessing, cursing, and exorcism. They kept primarily to themselves, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, to avoid persecution. Locals in the area still used their services, though none spoke about it to outsiders. By the time Josepha was 17, though, modern civilization had encroached enough upon the community that witchcraft was becoming obsolete. Doctors replaced healers. Catholicism replaced the rest. Josepha's mother began to think about marrying her daughter off and putting an end to the family tradition. Josepha had other plans. She wanted to study medicine. From childhood she had felt called to be a healer. If her ancestors' witchcraft and herbalism couldn't get her there, she was determined to follow the new traditional route. At age 18, on the eve of her marriage to a local goat herder, she ran away, begged a ride from a traveling merchant, and made her way to Madrid. Once there, she made her bid at the local medical school. Unsurprisingly, in 1909, they did not accept women except as nurses, who did little more than clean wounds and empty bedpans. That was hardly enough for Josepha. She did not understand the big city, coming from a small village where her talents were honored and her sex had not mattered when she saved the life of the miller's baby daughter. So she persisted. One doctor at the college took notice. He approached her after her third rejection from the school and offered to teach her in private. His idea of teaching involved rape. He drugged her with laudanum and proceeded to do his worst. Josepha usually leaves part of her story out here. A couple of industrious Hollowers, though, have tracked down the legend. One of them discovered a reference in the diary of a local nun from that time period. The nun wrote about finding a young woman in a ditch, naked, and near death. She describes the woman as "spoiled and driven mad, as an animal that has just awakened in a strange location." Those curious Hollowers believe that young woman was Josepha. As evidence they point to her reverence for Catholic nuns and the Virgin Mary despite the fact that she does not practice Catholicism. They further believe she Awakened at some point in the attack or during her time spent near death in the ditch. If the nuns did take Josepha in and care for her, they did not do it long. One week after the nun's entry in her diary, the hospital school burned to the ground. Only one person did not make it out in time: the doctor who raped Josepha. Josepha usually picks up her tale with the fire. She describes the leaping flames and the satisfaction of revenge. Witnesses to the scene described a dark-haired witch laughing as the hospital burned. At the time they pointed fingers and wanted to burn her. Josepha explains she was not completely sane. She had thought she had been infused with power to set right what went wrong. Fortunately, Neville Sinclair heard reports of the Madrid witch, her trial, and imminent death sentence. He gallantly rescued the young Orphan and took her back to Paris with him and gradually helped her rediscover her sanity. He taught her, and fell in love with her. The story could not be any more romantic. It even ends in tragedy when, more than 50 years later, in 1964, she let her curiosity get the better of her. She figured if she could understand the dark forces better, she could fight them more effectively, just as a doctor needs to understand a disease before they can cure it. Though she learned a great deal, she misjudged the power of the Nephandi. Bog Asphodel died protecting her and she left her cabal in shame. Her misery has eaten away at her for the past 40 years and she balances on the edge of Quiet. She desperately wants to regain what she once had but knows the likelihood is poor. If the members of the Waydowners finally turn their backs on her, then she will step fully to her Quiet and, in despair, throw herself at the forces that initially caused her to lose everything she had, seeing it as her penance. It will undoubtedly mean her death if no one intervenes. Image Josepha has straight, black hair that reaches to her lower back; worn either down or braided in one long plait. Her face has a fullness that once reminded others of clean air and mountain breezes but now seems bloated and corpselike. She has become a shadow of her former self. Without make-up, dark circles ring her eyes. She rarely brushes her hair anymore so it hangs about her in morning tangles. Her dark eyes have irises that hint at leafless tree branches silhouetted against a moonless sky. She prefers to dress simply; always all in either black or red, depending on her mood. Her gothic connection shows more in the cut and style of her clothes and leans toward simplicity. Ankle-length, straight skirts accompany turtlenecks or ruffled blouses. Her wide cummerbunds are reminiscent of the fashions popular in the early 1900s throughout Europe. She accessories with symbols of the Madonna and has a particular fondness for the Pieta. Personal Josepha will not discuss the details surrounding the time between her rape and the burning of the hospital school. She gladly embellishes the story of the inferno and Neville's rescue from the witch hunt, though a noticeable sadness washes over her when she mentions Neville. She rarely shows more emotion than her usual melancholy and seems drugged half the time, muttering to herself and wandering through the clubs without direction. She will talk to anyone who talks to her but her attention usually drifts about halfway through the conversation. References * Category:Mage: The Ascension character Category:Hollow Ones